TIGHT PANTS SYNDROME: SINGLES
(BLIP! BLAP! Records & Tapes)
STREET DATE: JUNE 24, 2008
In the world of Tight Pants Syndrome—a constantly evolving lineup of Saint Louis' finest popsters led by songwriter/guitarist Tom Stephens—everybody sings. The latest group—featuring Maxtone Four's Brian McClelland, STL drummer-at-large Scott Hermes (Phonocaptors/Fantasy Four), keyboardist Tim McAvin (Lydia's Trumpet/The Joobs), and new addition Erin Hogan (Failside)—carries on in the tradition of the original 2004 lineup, keeping big harmonies and lightning-hot pop hooks in the forefront of their shimmering '60s pop.
The Pants' long-anticipated debut full-length release, Singles, will be released on June 24, 2008. Consisting of all the band’s limited-edition (and always coveted) regionally released singles—plus five new tracks including live faves "John's Niece is Very Pretty," "Dumb Love," and "Suburban Girl"—Singles serves as a primer for the uninitiated and soon-to-be-converted pop fan.
Singles’ first 9 tracks—starting with the giddy anthem “Your Buzz Is Safe With Me” and concluding with the almost-Christmas tune “How Did You Get To Be Mine (This Christmas)”—feature the original 2004 lineup of Stephens on guitars/vocals, Marcia Pandolfi on vocals/guitars, Joe Scanlon on vocals/bass, and Brian James on drums. When Pandolfi left the band for art school in Chicago in 2005, McClelland—a long time fan who had written up the Pants during his stint as Live Music Editor for regional magazine PLAYBACK:stl—says he “literally jumped at the opportunity” to join, pitching his innate talent for “singing like a girl.”
After a short stint with band pal Lauren Trull on Moog, Stephens’ school chum Tim McAvin joined in 2007. Having recently disbanded The Joobs, McAvin joined just in time to lay down some sweet harmonies and smoking keys on the tracks “Cool Bad Cherry” and “Fuckin’-A Right.”
When drummer James split for San Francisco in 2007, Hermes was number one on the Pants’ wish list. After a prolonged courting period—due mostly to Hermes’ willingness to repeatedly “audition new haircuts” to find a style deemed “cool enough to hang,” Stephens explains, adding “Third time is definitely the charm”—the lineup was once again complete.
The Pants found their newest member—singer and actress Erin Hogan—the new-fashioned way: on Craigslist.
Stephens describes the Pants’ sound as “Stadium pop,” with a little bit of “Blip Blap!” and “Don’t Worry About It” thrown in for kicks.
From the RIVERFRONT TIMES (June 2008):
Singles Going Steady
Elusive local power-pop/'60s-rock aficionados Tight Pants Syndrome have finally been captured on disc with Singles. As its name implies, the album collects tunes written and recorded between 2004 and 2007 with several different lineups. Unlike many odds-and-ends compilations, though, Singles is incredibly cohesive — from the Sloan-like power-pop of "Cool Bad Cherry" to the '80s indie-rock shambling of "John's Niece is Very Pretty" and drowsy harmonies of jangle-psych gem "Your Buzz Is Safe With Me." Now settled in as a quintet, Tight Pants Syndrome recently played its first out-of-town shows, which included an appearance at International Pop Overthrow Chicago. Vocalist/bassist Brian McClelland — a member of the band since 2005 — checked in with B-Sides on the eve of Singles' release.
B-Sides: How does it feel to finally hold a CD in your hands after all this time?
Brian McClelland: Of the fourteen songs on the record, I'm involved in the last five or six. The first batch of tunes I think is from 2005? 2004? I was such a big fan of those guys, I always wanted them to compile their stuff even before I was a band member. I think everyone's really excited about it. We've already started recording the next batch of songs, an actual record where everything is being made at the same time, instead of over a five-year period.
I bet that's a very different feeling.
This lineup has really been fun so far. Our live show is so much improved, I think — just a lot more vocals.
Erin [Hogan] is the newest member, right?
We basically have three lead singers; Tim [McAvin] and I and Erin [Hogan] are all doing lead. Tim actually found Erin on Craigslist, which I thought was a very modern way of [finding her]. [Laughs] She is a locally based actress. Most people, when they get a new member, you want them to feel like they're being a part of the creative process, so you try to let them shape their own parts. But she comes in and says, "Tell me exactly what you want to do, and I'll do it, no problem." She likes to be directed. We tell her exactly what we need, and she makes it sound great.
What struck me about listening to the collection, was how cohesive everything is, despite being written over so many years with so many different people. I was impressed by that.
A big part of that is Tom Stephens. Basically, the band is Tom Stephens. He has recycled the entire lineup since he did "Your Buzz Is Safe With Me" — everyone's new except for Tom. He just lends a very distinct slant to his pop songs. Tom is such a great songwriter.
Tights Pants Syndrome did some out-of-town stuff recently, right?
We did some Champaign and Chicago stuff over the last month or two. It was a blast; I never had that much fun being out of town with a band before. They're just the goofiest people I've ever known in my life — and that's in the best way, they're really fun. I'm on the midnight shift, [and] we left early in the morning, I tried to sleep the entire way up to Chicago — we had a day show [there] and a night show that same night in Champaign — and these guys were so goofy, yelling and screaming the whole time. I was exhausted, but they were having so much fun, I couldn't tell 'em, "Guys, can you keep it down?" Because that enthusiasm was so, I don't know...It makes everything so much more exciting and fun.— Annie Zaleski
From the ST. LOUIS POST's ROCK CANDY:
Tight Pants Syndrome delivers pop hooks on new album
By Matt Fernandes, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Pop hooks and harmonies will abound this Saturday at the Tap Room as the local quintet Tight Pants Syndrome will release their debut album.
The band was founded in 2004 by guitarist Tom Stephens. After some departures, Stephens retooled the band with several established musicians: Brian McClelland (Maxtone Four) sings and plays bass; Tim McAvin (Lydia's Trumpet) sings and plays keys; and Scott Hermes (Fantasy Four, Phonocaptors) is on drums. Erin Hogan on vocals rounds out the band.
The new album is a reflection of the various lineup changes. Titled Singles, the record is made up of songs that the band recorded a few at a time over the years, plus five new tracks. With titles like “Your Buzz is Safe With Me Tonight” and “Suburban Girl,” expect some humor to go with your Tap Room fries on Sat.
The album will be available at shows and as a download on iTunes.
McClelland said that the group tries to keep it fun, loose and upbeat onstage, with lots of big harmonies. The band boasts three lead singers with the other two backing up at times.
“It’s very late-1960s and early-1970s AM pop music – (influenced by) something even as silly as the Archies,” said McClelland, referring to the animated bubblegum garage band from the Archie Show during the same era. More recent comparisons would be Canada’s Sloan and Denver’s Apples in Stereo.
From the RIVERFRONT TIMES:
BEST POP BAND 2006 - TIGHT PANTS SYNDROME
The cult of power-pop geeks is small but fanatical. Picture a cadre of harmony aficionados who might name-drop obscure bands, or devoted vinyl crate-diggers who speak with hushed reverence about finding impossibly rare 45s at a flea market. It's fitting, then, that very few local bands specialize in preserving power-pop's legacy. Enter Tight Pants Syndrome. A quintet bolstered with new member Scott Hermes on drums, the Pants wield the fiercest harmonies and melodies in town, with multiple layers of pop sugar spun into catchy songs. (Check out their MySpace page, www.myspace.com/tightpantssyndrome, then try to get the bubblegum-fuzz gem "Your Buzz Is Safe with Me Tonight" out of your head. Just try.) Those who scour the countryside for the Yellow Pills compilations, who attend every Dressy Bessy show in town or who are just plain tired of what passes for pop today will love Tight Pants Syndrome—guaranteed.
Hey! We’re coming all the way from Australia to play Japan, U.K Spain and The U.S. We’d love to see you at a show or two! Power Pop for fans of Weezer, Fountains of Wayne, Elvis Costello & Cheap Trick.
I read about your rock and roll and it sure was fun to read on the internet. I think I like the internet even more than I ever did before. You did that for me, Tight Pants Syndrome!
Just wanted you and all your fans to check out the May edition of Hear/Say Magazine (online and in college bookstores across America) because we included your group in our Sonicbids Band Reviews section! For more info. or to track down a copy of the review, check out our MySpace page!
